316 VACCINATION FOR DISTEMPER. [<JH. xvm. 



necessary to keep them unusually warm,* and feed them high, 

 while they are suffering from the effects of this treatment. It is 

 not likely that you will lose any ; but if you should, the loss will be 

 small compared with that of an educated dog at a mature age. The 

 extent of the mischief will probably be a slight cough, with a little 

 running at the nose for a few days. 



573. Having heard that vaccination would greatly mitigate the 

 distressing symptoms of distemper, if not entirely remove all 

 susceptibility to infection, I endeavoured to possess myself with the 

 facts of the case. Circumstances were thus brought to my know- 

 ledge which appear so interesting, that a brief detail of them may 

 not be unacceptable to some of my readers. It would seem that 

 vaccination might be made as great a blessing to the canine race as 

 it has proved to mankind : that is to say, many experienced men 

 are still of that opinion. All that I heard of material import is 

 nearly embodied in letters I received, some years ago, from Mr. 



L e, of Neat's Court, Isle of Sheppey, an intelligent sportsman, 



much attached to coursing. As I am sure he will not object to my 

 doing so, I will quote largely from his notes. He writes nearly 

 mot-a-mot. 



574. " It is with pleasure that I answer yours of this morning, 

 and give you what little information I can respecting the vaccination 

 of my puppies. Mr. Fellowes, who resided about eight years since 

 at 34, Baker Street, was the first person from whom I learned any- 

 thing on the subject. He was a great breeder of bull-dogs, of all 

 the canine race the most difficult to save in distemper, greyhounds 

 being, perhaps, the next on the list.f He told me that in twelve 

 years he had lost but two puppies, and those not, he believed, from 

 distemper, and yet he had regularly bred every year. 



575. " I went to town purposely to see him operate upon a clutch. 

 The method is very simple. Take a small piece of floss silk, and 

 draw the end through a needle. On about the middle of the silk 

 place some matter (when in a proper state) extracted from a child's 

 arm. Unfold (throw back) the ear so as to be able to see the 

 interior part near the root. You will then perceive a little project- 

 ing knob or kernel almost detached from the ear. With the needle 

 pierce through this kernel. Draw the silk each way till the blood 

 starts. Tie the ends of the silk, and the process is completed. You 

 may let the silk remain there : it will drop off after a time. The 

 object is to deposit the matter by this method, instead of employing 

 a lancet. I have great faith in the efficacy of the plan, simple as it 

 appears. With me it has never failed. For some years in suc- 

 cession I dropped a clutch of greyhounds and two litters of setters, 

 and not a single pup had the distemper more severely than for the 

 disease to be just perceptible. A little opening medicine then 



* In all diseases of dogs pointers that rarely take it, espe- 



innammatory, of course, excepted cially if they are liberally fed, and 



warmth is recommended. lie warm while young. W. N. H. 



t There is a hardy breed of 



